Can a woodgrained dash still say "hot rod"

I was trying to find a more worned look leather when I recovered my seats but cost proved otherwise. I was able to get this material at cost. But my idea was to get the old bomber jacket worn football look. And i love the look of rivets.. anywhere on a car. Definitely 40's !

 

Thanks PeteJoe.

Here's the dash that's in it, but I'm giving it to my Dad to put in his 3 window. I have a rusty one that I'm going to redo for my car. I'm keeping the waterfall though. I have a Motorola radio too. This is the steering wheel I'm going to run for now. I haven't decided if I am going to cover the hoop in some kind of material or not. It was damn cold when I went to move the car yesterday though!

Maybe a '40 wheel would fit the aircraft theme better? I really like banjo wheels. It would have to be one of the cut down ones though. The way the column is positioned now, I have to have a small wheel. I tried putting a 59 Impala wheel on for the short term last night and it smashed my nuts. Until I get the column changed, there's no way I can run a real banjo or '40 wheel.

I like your suggestions Ryan. I'm sure we have some ratty guages that could be converted to black.

Jdee is the master no doubt, but I can't afford him! I think I can do a suitable facsimile myself. I have been reading up on it...

 

What Choprods said. I met JDEE at Hershey last year, they have a killer kit for the diy.They have some patterns other then wood, too. It uses a roll-on blotter, looks way too easy in the instructions. JDEE has a site at www.woodgraining.com.

 

I've got one of the DIY kits Jdee sells. Works very well, and you can tailor the colors to suite your car, if you don't want to go strictly stock.
Getting it done "right", or professionally, can be a bit expensive. It is geared towards high end restoration work, like Packards. The job you'd get from Jdee would be perfect!.
Getting the kit is a cheap alternative. Besides the dash, you'd want to grain the window frames as well.

 

I love WWII aircraft. Fortunately, I live 1 mile (as the P51 flies) from the
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, so I can get my fix whenever I feel the need.

I especially love the look of gauges which are attached from the front. I believe that one of the major gauge-makers (sorry, don't remember who)made an aircraft-styled set about 15 years ago. Didn't sell, I guess, and was not advertised for more than a year. Maybe they still have 'em boxed in some corner of the factory warehouse just waiting for your call...

Dave

 

dont know if you consider it ahotrod but what the hell.....not as grainy as some, but the car came with a wood dash stock.

 

This post of your made me think about old typewriters with enamel keys and old machinery that has those interesting old industrial knobs and such. Someone outta take some of those found objects and use them for a unique set of knobs.

Stacey

 

I love this thread. There's a book out called """Cockpits" showing full colour pics of all kinds of WW II aircraft interiors. Some stuff turns up at swapmeets. I picked up some old NOS dimmers (rheostats...pots). Later saw them in a pic of a Spitfire cockpit!! (used as an instrument lamp dimmer).

Bakelite and nickel plated panhead screws, or knurled thumbscrews. Like Stacey said, look at old typewriters, or waffle irons(!). Heck, check out 3-hole punches at Staples (knurled thumbscrews). For bakelite knobs, look at little ink bottles or oil paint tops at an art supply store. Love that look. -Keith

 

What type of woodgrain pattern are you thinking of using.
Kind of a straight grain or a Fancy Burl?
I would think a satin clear over a walnut would look super.
All I get to do is the super high gloss stuff ...
PM me,, I might have some old test plates and rollers around you can have.
Jdee
http://woodgraining.com/photos/

 

Sure it can say hot rod -- it'll just say it with a lisp.

Seriously, DrJ nailed it. If a car in 1950 had a woodgrained dash stock, a hot rodder wouldn't consider repainting it. He was concerned about the FUNCTION of hot rodding, not the aesthetics. "Will painting my dash black make it faster? No. Fuck it. The woodgrain stays."

Steve.

 

Bakelight knobs would be cool. I considered some of those SoCal Mercury Knobs painted black too. Maybe I should see if Drake has some real Mercury knobs in plastic.

PM sent Jdee!

 

I have a '38 woodgrained dash that I have every intention of running in my A. It's going to need to be sectioned, but I'm putting the woodgrain back on it.

I don't know of anything that's much more Hot Rod than piecing together a car from rare and cool looking parts, do you?

 

Looks very cool to me.. The HAMB'S Django.. the greatest hotrod builder ever, except for this gypsy in France...

 

haha, that movie rules!

Playing around in PS...

 

[QUOTE

Playing around in PS...[/QUOTE]

Like the faces but that dash needs a machine turned silver plate behind the gauges.
The dash looks bare in that area. Just throwing out ideas.

 

World War II Cockpits.

http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/wwii/books/cockpit/

 

I say go with the wood grain. Just remember that you're gonna have to look at it every time you get behind the wheel. If others don't like it, who cares. I personally don't like woodgrain on much of anything, except maybe a british road car. I had wood grain all over my buick regal, and I painted all of it black. I just liked the look better. Did it change anything to make it a hot rod? Nope. But I liked it, so that was all that mattered. I personally think the scratches and rust, and chipped paint, make that old ride look freaking awesome. I wouldn't re-paint it at all, except maybe the grey part at the back. There's just something about it looking "real" that is sooooooooo much better than a fancy new shiny paint job.

 

When you do it yourself "the right way" you will love it!
The hard part is picking the colors and pattern;
like any paint job I guess.
I'll help the best I can, The clear is the hardest part,
but some good old clear Lacq. will look sweet rub it out with compound but not in circles, go with the length of the dash and give it a satin like finish
Jdee

 

Wood grained dashs and window garnish moldings are the way to go!

Real wood dashes and steering wheels leave me as cold as a cucumber. Flames with the woodgrained dash is a no go.

I have wood grained garnish mouldings in my '40 DeLuxe coupe and everyone that likes old hot rods remark at how nice they look. The dash isn't wood grained and would look outa' place that way in a '40.

To me, a woodgrained dash makes a statement that suggests the car was a cherry old original that you've hot rodded. Isn't that what we all dream of doin' anyway! Gets those restorers talkin' to themselves when they do an about face and walk away!!

Django, That steering wheel has got to go bye bye. With or without a cover it doesn't match the rest of the theme. To me it's a borderline "billet" piece. Would ya' put billet phony Halibrand wantabes on there? If you don't put in the original banjo or a '38-'39 style (I like them better), then go with a 2 color '40 Deluxe.

In my '36 3-window that you have pics of, I have a '39 banjo wheel, stock seat and have no seat to steering wheel clearance problems. Are you a big guy or just have trouble with "big nuts" !!!??? I could put a column drop in mine and still have room to spare. Maybe 3-windows have lower seats? Do you know?

I agree with Ryan on most of what he says. But I don't like the aircraft instrument look, but I love WWII planes. My favorites, in order are P-40 (love those teeth), P-38 (twin engines!!) and P-51 (fast and sleek, helped to shorten WWII in Europe a bunch).

He's right about the finished stance of the car. If you don't have the correct wheel tire combo and have them set in the opening looking right, ya' got nuttin'!!

 

Woodgrain is the only way to go.

 

Original Dash. Has a Wood Grain Feel to it, yet very faded. I love it, it goes well with the car..

 

YOU MADE MY DAY
Jdee
That photo Rocks.......

 

Go with the woodgrain!

 

That cockpit site is awesome. One of the gauges in the Hellcat gives me ideas. Expensive ideas, but ideas nonetheless...

Yeah, the wheel is temporary. Wait until you see the column! I'm fighting the snowball effect on my car. After sitting in the barn with a blown motor for 15 years Dad started making it a full blown street rod and had a Gibbon Cordoba torsion bar kit install in the '80s and a Bitchin sbf /bbc firewall. (I know, I know, but it was the '80s) Because the firewall is so far back the angle of the column is weird. Because of that the wheel has to be small to clear the windshield. In order for it to clear the windshield, it the tilt on the column has to be lowered a notch or two, and with a big wheel, it's right in my lap. One of my projects is to make the package tray shorter and move the seat back 3 or 4" so I'm not wadded like a pretzel when I try to drive it. I'm not a big guy either...

At this point, I just want to drive it. It's been a project car my whole life and enough is enough. Probably next winter, we are going to rip that kit out and put a complete dropped axle that I just bought from a pristine '40 that was getting a mustang II, back under the car along with the original '36 column and wheel from the car (Dad kept all that stuff, tires, wheels, axles bones, banjo, juice brakes, etc)

Uh yeah, that brush stuff doesn't look so good...

Jdee rules, don't let anyone tell you any different.

 

For whatever it's worth.......

 

I've been thinking of this myself, since my job is wood related. I found some pics of chriscraft boat dashes. A wood and satin metal combo are sweet. For my 31 A p/u I am leaning towards a seafom green paint outside with woodie dash and brown (leather?) bench. Sounds alittle bling, but if mama ain't comfy..., we'll never go anywhere in it. Wood is good, and do what YOU like, because you are paying for it, not peeps opinions.

 

As long as it doesn't come in a box marked Wabbits!

 

Thanks for the pics